Strong locations in Northern Europe and North America

In Europe, a further division into East and West can be seen. In Eastern Europe, some countries may be considered as alternative locations, but none of them are truly top locations. The American continent is also divided. While Canada and the USA offer very good conditions, only Chile is suitable as a technology location in South America. However, it is not just Northern Europe and North America that are strong; the competition is spread around the world and in some cases very well positioned. Overall, there are good locations on all continents.

It is also interesting to see how the former hopefuls of the BRICS countries have developed. Only China seems to have caught up here. These are, roughly summarized, some of the findings from the current study "Technology locations worldwide" by Contor GmbH.

Contor advises companies on location searches and location analysis throughout Germany, Europe and worldwide and also provides studies on location topics. This study is based on the question of where the suitable investment locations are for the technology industry on the one hand and the markets for the products of this industry on the other.

The first step is to define what is meant by the technology industry. In this study, this includes knowledge-based, technology-driven production and services. The next step is to identify the drivers of this knowledge-based and technology-driven production and services. These were indicators in the areas of prosperity and quality of life, education and science, as well as industrial and technological affinity and entrepreneurial friendliness. Contor ultimately analyzed 22 indicators for these areas. A total of 144 countries worldwide were then subjected to a cluster analysis based on these indicators.

Negative surprises in Europe

Although a study of this kind must of course be wide-ranging, there are some other highly interesting and unexpected findings. For example, it was not expected that France and Italy would fall so significantly in their suitability as technology locations in Europe. This is not a good result for Europe as a whole and therefore also for Germany. It had been expected that some Eastern European countries would catch up more clearly with Western European locations. Perhaps they have held on to old industries for too long.

Of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), which were still highly regarded as beacons of hope a good 10 years ago, only China has so far shown that it is possible to rise from a developing country to a technology hub. The positive performance of some smaller countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia is also surprising. These countries will not be recommended as locations for production facilities that require a large number of qualified workers, but they could offer prospects for smaller technology-oriented companies.

Germany as a good location for investment

The results of the study are encouraging for Germany. Together with Switzerland, Ireland, Singapore and the United States, the country is located in a cluster that is generally very well suited as a location for investments in the technology sector. Overall, prosperity and quality of life are very high and education and science are very important. The industrial sector and, in particular, the high-tech sector are strongly developed in these countries, and entrepreneurial friendliness is also relatively high in a global comparison.

In detail, all countries in this cluster have a very high gross domestic product per capita, with Germany still having the lowest GDP, and have also developed positively in this respect in recent years. Unemployment has fallen in recent years and is relatively low. The level of education is still developing positively despite an already high level. The importance of the manufacturing industry for the economies of these countries is relatively high. Only the United States shows average values. This sector is particularly strong in Germany. Germany also shows a particularly positive development in this area, which clearly contrasts with the rather negative global trend.

High tax burden has a negative impact on Germany

All countries in the cluster have a high export rate of high-tech goods, with Singapore achieving particularly high values. The importance of medium-high technology and high technology for these countries is also very high. Despite already high productivity, this is still developing positively. There is at least an average level of investment, albeit with varying developments in recent years. The ability to attract and retain qualified workers is high in all states in the cluster. Germany could only be at a slight disadvantage in terms of its tax burden, which is well above average. am

Link to the study "Technology locations worldwide".

The clear division of suitability for investment by cardinal points can be seen on the interactive map accompanying the study.